When infected by a virus, the symptoms can be similar to a bacterial infection. That’s why people struggle to recover after taking antibiotics, which only work against bacteria and not viruses. EZC Pak was created by Sarath Malepati to treat both and get rid of the confusion. He pitched his product on Shark Tank and got a deal with Kevin O’Leary. In the current market, EZC Pak is worth $4 million.
The Founder
Dr. Sarath Malepati is a physician who operates in Lomita Boulevard, California. He received his medical education at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Malepati interned at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai for a year, before completing his residency at San Joaquin General Hospital. Sarath spent the next two decades practicing general surgery.
In the latter half of his career, he focused on taking care of patients with viral and bacterial infections. Currently, the California physician is a Medical Director at the PPC Group.
Founding EZC Pak
Sarath noticed doctors were handing out antibiotics too freely, and patients were taking them at the first hint of a cough, runny nose, sore throat, or similar cold-like symptoms.
Antibiotics target bacteria, but those symptoms often come from viruses. Overuse upsets the gut’s healthy flora, allowing harmful bacteria to flourish and trigger serious complications. Driven by this concern, the general surgeon set out to curb antibiotic misuse.
He researched and developed EZC Pak, a supplement that takes care of bacteria and viruses by boosting your immune system. The five-day immune support pack was introduced to the market in 2019.
Shark Tank Appearance
A year after launching, Dr. Sarath Malepati was in need of someone to help drive publicity around the product. He appeared on season 11 of Shark Tank, seeking $125,000 for a 5% equity stake.
The doctor started off well, but things went downhill when Mark Cuban disagreed with some of his medical claims. During the pitch, Lori Greiner got annoyed as she felt she was ignored and made some harsh remarks. The irony of when Lori was explaining herself, the other Sharks talked over her.
Despite having a rocky pitch, Malepati got an offer from Kevin O’Leary. After some negotiation, the two agreed on $125,000 for 5% equity and $1 royalty per unit sold until they reached $450,000 in sales.
After Shark Tank
Not long after the episode aired, the pandemic hit and it became a huge driver of sales. Most Shark Tank companies struggled during this period but EZC Pak thrived. The deal never closed with Kevin O’Leary as most likely Sarath didn’t like the royalty aspect of the deal. A royalty would have sucked up too much capital.
According to Benzinga.com, online sales rose by 850%, which helped the company create new variations of its product. They are now available at Walmart, CVS, Market Basket, Davidson Drugs, Amazon, HyVee, and EZCPak.com.
Their original product was a big hit on Amazon, where it has a 4.6-star rating from 2,262 customer reviews. EZC Pak is thriving and should be making around $2-$3 million in annual revenue with a net profit of less than $500,000. Currently, EZC Pak is worth $4 million.
